Season seven of Below Deck Mediterranean has been hitting some rough waters lately, and ironically, it’s not making waves with many viewers. And Below Deck Sailing Yacht’s chief stew, Daisy Kelliher, believes she knows why.
One of the main sources of contention this season is the interior crew — mainly the mixed dynamics between chief stew Natasha Webb and second stews Kyle Viljoen and Natalya Scudder.
The trio has divided themselves with Natasha and Kyle becoming a clique of their own, leaving Natalya on the sidelines. This didn’t sit well with the stew, which eventually led to her speaking to Captain Sandy about the matter.
Speaking with Showbiz CheatSheet, Daisy says a successful season begins with a strong chief stew who can bring their team together, and Natasha being all over the place this season, both emotionally and mentally, makes it hard for viewers to watch. Natasha has been struggling with a relationship back home and a flirtation with chef Dave White, and it’s taken a toll on her team.
“It’s hard to watch to be honest, and I feel sorry for her for sure,” Daisy said. “If you missed the mark they’re just going to go after you.”
Daisy continued by saying that viewers want to see a “supportive” leader that takes control of their team and can bring the drama with the guests, and not with one another.
“They want supportive. They want people who back their team, and they want people arguing with guests, not with each other,” Daisy told the outlet. “And they want to feel like the way they do at their own work… The customer is an a**hole and they love their team kind of thing. So unfortunately, that’s gone a bit wrong for her with the initial Dave thing and the Natalya [Scudder] thing, and yeah Bravo viewers just don’t like that.”
Daisy went on to say that you must be in a good place mentally to be able to lead your crew while on charter — something that Daisy sees Natasha clearly struggling with.
“I’m really lucky because I’ve always been in a really good place mentally when I’ve done a show,” the Below Deck star shared. “God, forbid I do the show when I’m in a bad place mentally. Because I can also act crazy and do irrational stuff. There’s always going to be one of [the crew members] in there. So, you just kind of go on the show praying it’s not going to be you.”
Though she empathizes with Natasha, Daisy believes that there has been no strong chief stew besides herself and Aesha Scott since the departures of veterans Kate Chastain and Hannah Ferrier (Hannah was even harsher on Natasha, calling her “boring”).
“I feel bad for [Webb], it’s not easy to watch. Because [after Kate Chastain and Hannah Ferrier] there has been no chief stew with the kind of staying power except for me and Aesha [Scott from Below Deck Down Under]. So, Natasha is getting a bad run,” Daisy claimed.
Below Deck Mediterranean airs Monday nights at 8 p.m. EST on Bravo.